Weekly Consumption of Deep-Fried Foods Linked to Prostate Cancer.

I don’t usually write about the implications of diet on prostate cancer. But a former scientific colleague recently sent me an article from Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News which cited research findings from the well-respected Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Researchers there found that men who reported eating French fries, fried chicken, fried fish, and/or doughnuts at least once a week had an increased risk of prostate cancer that ranged from 30–37% as compared to men who said they ate such foods less than once a month. Weekly consumption of these foods was also associated with a slightly greater risk of more aggressive prostate cancer. The effect also appears to be slightly stronger with regard to more aggressive forms of the disease defined by elevated PSA levels or Gleason scores. “For the study, the investigators analyzed data from two prior population-based case-control studies involving a total of 1,549 men diagnosed with prostate cancer and 1,492 age-matched healthy controls. The men were Caucasian and African-American Seattle-area residents and ranged in age from 35 to 74 years.” Further explanation is provided in the linked article. It may be that “we are what we eat.”